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Vitamin C Cures and Side Effects

Updated: 11/21/2008

SIDE EFFECTS

20 SIDE EFFECTS   

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/21/2007: Antoine from Los Angeles, California writes: "I was born allergic to Vitamin C. It causes me to itch all over my body, sometimes even break out in Hives. As a matter of fact, doctors have suggested that i even avoid taking ANY vitamins."

11/18/2008: David from Elkton, MD replies: "What you are allergic to are the fillers and/or bioflavanoids. You need vitamin C to live .. without it you get scurvy. Humans do not create their own vitamin C like most all other animals do.

Many ailments, like the common cold, are a kind of scurvy. In fact you can experience temporary acute scurvy by taking large Vit C doses over a long period and then stopping cold-turkey - it will last a day or so but you will experience all the symptoms of scurvy and then very quickly recover, so best bet is to taper off usage after consuming therapeutic ascorbate levels.

For allergy sensitive people your best bet is to get powdered pure ascorbic acid with no additives of any kind. Mix 1 teaspoon with 8 oz water, add sweetner if desired. Add .5 teaspoon of baking soda to neutralize the acid if desired to create sodium ascorbate.

If taking the acidic version (not buffered with baking soda), brush teeth after wards or it can attack enamel. If you keep it off your enamel vitamin C in your bloodstream will build your enamel (Vit C is also called the "invisible toothbrush" for this reason)."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/28/2007: Heather from Pompano Beach, FL writes: "Whenever I take Ester-C pills or use a Vitamin C facial cream, I get a really bad breakout on my face. It is almost like a rash. When I stop taking the pills or stop using the cream, the rash goes away in a couple of days. I have tried different types of these products, so I know it isn't just one manufacturer -- it's the Vitamin C."

11/18/2008: David from Elkton, MD replies: "It might be the calcium, as well as bioflavanoids. Ester C is C buffered with calcium and it also contains bioflavanids, and some people are more sensitive to calcium supplements than others and bioflavanoids are a problem for many people. Most creams with Vitamin C buffer it with calcium and throw rose hips and other junk in there to make it sound even more beneficial even though it's they're far more likely to give you an adverse reaction.

Skin especially needs vitamin C. It's a primary ingredient in the process of creating collagen which gives skin elasticity and keeps it from getting saggy.

I would suggest pure ascorbic acid for consumption. Most studies indicate pure Vit C is just as viable as buffered solutions and complexes including bioflavanoids.

With adequate C intake local application of the C to your skin should not be necessary. You could however put super concentrated vit C fluid + baking soda (to make sodium ascorbate, a non-acidic version of Vitamin C) in a dropper and rub it in to your face each night before you go to bed. Powdered pure vit C and baking soda is cheap and easily obtainable and I guarantee it will not give you a rash if mixed to become neutral."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/28/2007: Pat from Lamper, MO writes: "Recently had bladder infection, solved with soda and ACV. Nobody ever discusses Vit C problem. If I take Vit C or even a health bar with citric acid, I develop kidney or bladder problem. Would love to cleanse with your 1/4 tsp lemon, soda and pinch of Magnesium and potassium."

Ted from Bangkok replies: "Dear Pat: If I have a bladder infection or even a kidney problems, yes, vitamin C and citric acid is not helpful. But it is NOT the vitamin C or the citric acid being the problem. It is the pH of the things you are consuming. In event of this problem (uti), the pH should be over 8.

Vitamin C are of two types and people tend to lump them all together. One is the ascorbic acid which is acid and tends to promote bacteria growth by acidity. A sodium ascorbate vitamin C has a pH of about 8 and it prevents bacterial growth. A vitamin C can be both a pro-oxidant and an anti-oxidant depending on the pH. Vitamin C is a two edge sword. If the vitamin C is acid, it is a pro-oxidant. If the vitamin C is alkalline it is an anti-oxidant.

Citric acid and sodium citrate are very different, but chemically they are the similar in most ways, but at different pH.

When a baking soda is reacted with citric acid, it becomes sodium citrate and its pH is over 8. So in event of a kidney and bladder infection whatever you eat, its pH should be 8, or at least 7.

How do I know this is the issue. You mentioned you were helped with baking soda and ACV. The pH is about 7, but if reacted long enough it is between 7.5 to 8.0

It is the same with the other ones. It helps therefore to get a good pH paper and measure it and make sure it is alkaline and pH is about 8 in event of an infection.

Sea salt -- 1 teaspoon one dose only in one glass of water usually will kill the bladder infection. But for tough cases take this along with cranberry juice and some baking soda to increase the alkalinity of cranberry juice to about pH of 8. Sea salt pH is quite often pH is between 7.5 to 8.5. A good quality sea salt will have a pH of 8, a very bad one I have seen (overprocessed overpurified) can be as low as 6. A good sea salt is light brown and never bleached white."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/10/2007: John from Oakland, CA writes: "re: Large doses of Vitamin C. I took 3 grams/day for periodontal disease. I'm cutting back because I would sneeze so hard I became congested and would turn to inhalers. My lungs constricted."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  12/24/2006: Robert from Orlando, FL writes: "Whenever I get a toothache I think back to see if I took large amounts of vitamins, especially C, and then suddenly stopped. Toothaches can be the result of sudden withdrawal from vitamin C. If so, it's best to return to using it and gradually withdraw from its use rather than do it all at once. Sudden withdrawal from C can cause joint pains as well. Such pains are normally temporary, but they can be quite disconcerting if one doesn't know their source."

11/18/2008: David from Elkton, MD replies: "Congratulations: You're one of the first people I've ever encountered to correctly assess what is happening in this scenario. Most people blame it on the vitamin C, when in reality it's a reaction to going cold-turkey from the most beneficial nutrient known to mankind.

What you are experiencing when you go cold-turkey on Vit C is nothing less than acute scurvy. The phenomenon is technically known as "rebound scurvy" in orthomolecular circles. The condition is temporary and can be dangerous if a patient's health is already extremely weak, and it is avoided precisely as you have indicated.

Rebound scurvy is also used as a natural means to cause miscarriages, and perhaps the most dependable and safest ways to do so. In involves taking massive doses for a few days (like 10-30 grams per day) then going completely cold turkey. Some have wrongly concluded that the Vitamin C causes the miscarriage, but it is in fact the rebound scurvy brought on by starving a body of this essential molecule after it has grown accustomed to use it up quickly and not conserve it."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  12/20/2006: Sarah writes: "I take high doses of Vitamin C whenever I get a cold. I always get a rash on my abdomen, breasts and underarms afterward. I don't know if the vitamin C causes it, but I wonder now if the two are linked."

09/18/2008: Bret from Phoenix, Arizona replies: "I thought I had an allergy to vitamin c growing up. My pediatrician said no, it was an allergy to contaminants and biproducts. Some experts feel you cannot be allergic to a vitamin, but that plant biproducts, bioflavenoid, rhutin can induce allergic reactions. I know because I used to break out in pinpoint rash on my abdomen from vitamin c and had to take liquid drops which were pure. While I was growing up, I had to take this liquid form. If I was truly allergic to c, I would still have broken out, which I did not in the purest form.

Stay away from rose hips and extras. Buy the powder without the extra's. Buffered is good so don't mistake potassium, magnesium, calcium as extras. Just straight c, buffered or not.

Your liver used to make vitamin c as does every mammal. Somewhere along the line, primates lost their ability to manufacture their own c. This is why some people feel you can't be allergic to the vitamin, but can be allergic to the stuff that comes along with it. It's like being allergic to a hormone that your body already makes. If you take synthroid and have a reaction, chances are it's not the synthroid as your body manufactured this hormone naturally, it is something in the synthroid which causes reactions.

So seek out powder form, no flavenoids and such. No rose hips.

Good luck. This is a very important vitamin. Bret Peirce"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  12/14/2006: John from Cebu City, Philippines writes: "I've been taking vitamin C crystals and vitamin C powder alternately for quite some time now. i take it everyday together with vit.E. So far i haven't noticed any significant improvement as to my susceptibility to upper respiratory illnesses is concerned. My concern right now is my gaining of weight. which is very visible due to my increased body weight and size. i am not sure if it is really the pure vit.C (2-4 500mg capsules a day) that has caused the weigh increase but the time i started gaining weigh and taking pure vit.C came at the same time."

Ted from Bangkok replies: "The vitamin C depends on the TYPE OF VITAMIN C you are taking. There is the acid form and there is an alkaline form. The acid form of ascorbic acid will cause weight gain, while the alkaline form of vitamin C sodium ascorbate will cause a weight loss. An easy way to check is to add baking soda to the powdered vitamin C in to the glass of water. If there is a fizz, then it is an acid form. It appears you took an acid form of vitamin C. The biggest secret to weight loss is whether the food you are taking causes your urine to be acid or alkaline. This is the most effective method I have seen yet towards weight loss (plus the borax), but this remedy will never be as a well known weight loss as Dr. Atkins, but in practice, the acid/alkaline issue appears to be the foundation towards weight loss"

11/18/2008: David from Elkton, MD replies: "Also, 2-4 500mg capsules a day is not enough to affect your respiratory health. Vitamin C will not significantly affect your respiratory heath until you take 10 to 20 times more per day. You have to reach your therapeutic threshold for it to have any effect, otherwise you are mostly wasting vitamin C. You receive all the nutritional benefits at the concentrations you're using, but that will be useless for therapeutic effect.

In short, it is not advisable to megadose Vitamin C to prevent respiratory problems as the required concentrations are just too much for many people. Continue taking them at your current levels for general nutrition, but if respiratory problems get back start megadosing (15 to 100 grams / day), using bowel titration as your guide. Do a search for ascorbate bowel titration for more info. When your condition has alleviated go back to the low doses of 1-2 grams/day."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  12/13/2006: KB from Bridgeport, CT writes: "I ran across your request for vitamin C allergies. I experience bloating and weight when I take it and I don't know why. I've tried chewable forms, ascorbic acid, and calcium ascorbate. I also have similar reactions with other vitamins I've tried. I thought it might be a hidden filler or preservative. I have Graves Disease and am trying natural remedies. Any information you might have would be helpful"

Ted from Bangkok replies: "Ascorbic is acid forming and calcium ascorbate while alkaline tends to cause bloating also. The preferred form is ascorbic acid, powdered, then add baking soda until the fizz stops then add a pinch of potassium bicarbonate then add some water. This is alkaline forming and free of calcium. Calcium is often use for weight gain and is not recommended if you have bloating problems. Bloating problems is acid forming and ascorbic acid is never really recommended and this is why baking soda is always added. I found alkaline supplements of boron (in form of borax pH= 8) or baking soda (with pinch of potassium bicarbonate), quite often lead to weight loss since the food spends less time in digesting and therefore weight loss and bloating is reversed. Usually at least 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to 1/2 glass of water taken twice a day on an empty stomach will often quite slowly cause the body to be more alkaline and reduce bloating, however it is best to monitor the urinary pH and vary the dosage accordingly within the 6.5- 7.35 pH range. Most people who are constipated and bloating are quite often the urinary pH is often below 5.5 if they do have problems."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  12/05/2006: Leah from NH writes: "I started taking pure vitamin C as suggested by a doctor to try and get rid of my cold faster. Within a couple of days I broke out with a blistery rash on the palms on my hands. It itched somewhat and was very annoying. Once i stopped taking it the rash disappeared. I also developed the rash after drinking large amounts of V8 Splash juice which also contains large amounts of vitamin C."

11/18/2008: David from Elkton, MD replies: "It isn't the vitamin C. If Tomato juice causes it it's likely bioflavanoids that often come with vitamin C. You need C to survive, and your body doesn't produce it. You need to ingest it. Vitamin C is without doubt the most misunderstood nutrient and wrongfully disparaged therapeutic substance in modern medicine."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  06/04/2006: Denise from Temecula, CA writes: "I have never been able to take Vit C. Within four days of ingesting it I would break out in massive cold sores. This also occurs when I eat large amounts of citrus or organic home grown tomatoes."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  05/22/2006: Don from Perth Western Australia writes: "High dose vitamin C caused my magnesium level to fall drastically. After taking high vit C for two months, I finished up in the emergency ward having defibrillation to correct severe atrial fibrillation brought on by low magnesium. Please add this warning to your advice pages, thanks."

09/10/2007: jacqueline from el segundo, california replies: "One of your writers stated that while on mega doses of vitamin C he landed himself in the hospital for an imbalance of other minerals. However, he does not say what he considered a mega dose. NOR does he mention how long he had been taking this 'mega dose'. Some people think that anything over the RDA is a mega dose. I read about a doctor/researcher who would give up to 200 milligrams per day. I, myself just finished taking 3 teaspoons/12,000 milligrams AND yet another guy, that just posted here, stated that a mere 5,000-10,000 milligrams a day are helping a woman who has (what doctors had told her was) terminal lung cancer. He thinks these are mega doses. So again, what is 'considered' a mega dose?"

SINUSITIS, ACID REFLUX AND ARRHYTHMIA

1 YEA   

[YEA]  07/08/2006: John from Wilmington, CA writes: "I take 10,000 mg to 15,000 mg of Vitamin C everyday and it keeps a number of symptoms at bay. You have to build up a tolerance for Vitamin C. It may create a lot of bowel distress at first. See the internet site http://www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm for more complete instructions on finding your personal level of Vitamin C."

SORE THROAT

1 YEA   

[YEA]  01/17/2007: Lorenzo from Green River, Wyoming writes: "Quick success with Sore throat. One tablespoon of raw crushed garlic. One day flu cure: 20 grams of vitamin C. Was taking Vitamin C several times a day to keep a tooth from hurting until the Dentist appointment. Then in place of taking anti-biotics one hour before the appointment I took more vitamin C. The Dentist had to give me more novocaine than normal as it kept wearing off. I mentioned this on the Cavemanfood list and another writer said he had the swame experience. We had a teen age visitor with a toothache, she took Vitamin C and was happy again."

SPIDER BITES

1 YEA   

[YEA]  10/26/2008: WT (teester9484 at hotmail dot com) from Spartanburg, SC writes: "Vitamin C is truly a medicine to take everywhere you go. I've used it for a spider bite I got while canoeing down a creek. My arm swelled and hurt and I didn't realize why at first. It finally dawned on me that I had brushed a limb at the start of the trip and spiders galore fell in the boat with me. Evidently one bit me!

I took 3-4G every 1.5 hours or so after getting home and continued the next day. Never got any signs of overdosing ie gas or diarrhea. I estimate I took 40G over 24 hours! It killed most of the swelling by nightfall the day of the trip!

Also had an employee get stung by a wasp. He told me the last time he got bit he had to go to the hospital. I gave him 5G and sent let him leave. He told me in an hour or so the pain and swelling had diminished greatly. He didn't have anymore vitamin C but he didn't need to visit the hospital!"

VITAMIN C IV

06/17/2008: Joyce from Joelton, Tn writes: "The first use of Vitamin C IV that I remember reading about was Norman Cousins, "Anatomy of An Illness" I think was the title. He became very ill, with an undiagnosed illness (he thought it was caused by the chemicals exposed to when he was caught in the jet stream of the plane he was trying to board) since that was the only difference that he could come up with that his wife wasn't exposed to and she accompanied him on this trip.  Cousin's was bedfast and decided that his best chance of recovery was Pauling's  Vitamin C IV and watching all the old cartoons that they could round up.  He, wonder of wonders, found a doctor who would let him check into a hotel room and do therapy his way (after he signed a release for the doctor's not being responsible for any adverse outcome), also do lab work to check to how it was progressing.  His therapy worked and the labs did show that after good belly laughter, his labs showed improvement."

WEIGHT LOSS, CHRONIC ALLERGIES

1 YEA   

[YEA]  08/18/2007: Richard from Dayton, Ohio writes: "I started taking Vitamin C because I heard that mega-dosing on it helped with remyelination of nerve cells. Two other side effects resulted. First I lost about 20 pounds in two months. I didn't really change my diet or exercise any more than usual. Also, I noticed that I was not suffering from my seasonal allergies. Normally I get seasonal allergies in May and late summer. This past may I only took one over the counter pill. So far this summer I haven't had to take any."

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